<br><div><aside aria-label="advertisement" class="gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__bv"/><aside aria-label="advertisement" class="gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__bvd gnt_x__h"/><aside class="gnt_em gnt_em__fp gnt_em_vp__tp gnt_em__el" aria-label="Video - How to budget this Christmas"><div class="gnt_em_vp_w" data-g-r="vp_tp" data-c-vt="exco" data-t-pl="teal-hero"><button class="gnt_em_vp_a gnt_em_vp__tp_a" data-g-r="vp_ap vp_tg" data-c-vpattrs="{"muted":true,"bContent":false,"an":"usatoday","pn":"USA TODAY","vidNum":0,"docking":true,"exid":"7a94a662-d8e9-49a7-aeba-e8a15c79f0f2","plcmt":"2","iu":"/7103/usatoday/preroll_video/","cut":1}" data-c-vpdata="{"adsEnabled":true,"awsPath":"news","byline":"unbranded - Lifestyle","canonicalURL":"","contentSourceCode":"VIDE","credit":"unbranded - Lifestyle","duration":76000,"headline":"How to budget this Christmas","hlsURL":"https://hlsmedia.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/videos/videoelephant/renditions/76658293007/e3f1cf24-2428-4747-a21d-72b820a00e03/480p_30fps,720p_30fps,1080p_30fps,master.m3u8?subtitles=76658293007","id":"76658293007","image":{"opto":true,"url":"/gcdn/authoring/videos/videoelephant/thumbnails/76658293007.jpg"},"keywords":"Holiday Shopping,Christmas,Do Not Syndicate","mp4URL":"https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/videos/videoelephant/renditions/76658293007/e3f1cf24-2428-4747-a21d-72b820a00e03/1080p_30fps.mp4","origin":"Video Elephant","pageURL":{"long":"https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/2024/12/12/how-to-budget-this-christmas/76658293007/"},"promoBrief":"Christmas spending is different for everyone and everyone has their own budget. However, the holidays are always an expensive time.","propertyName":"USATODAY","series":"","ssts":{"section":"news","subsection":"","topic":"","subtopic":""},"tags":[{"id":"0ebeecee-3c11-43c5-87ce-ca2a67432463","name":"Holiday Shopping"},{"id":"d892bb02-3bc6-4242-8240-18e6711f62f5","name":"Christmas"},{"id":"0d7241c1-c262-4ccf-82ea-4c1efacfd6dd","name":"Do Not Syndicate"}],"title":"How to budget this Christmas","url":"/videos/news/2024/12/12/how-to-budget-this-christmas/76658293007/"}" aria-label="Play video"><img alt="" class="gnt_em_vp_img" src="https://www.usatoday.com/gcdn/authoring/authoring-images/2024/12/17/USAT/77051689007-20241213-t-221850-z-847870726-rc-2-jobac-04-au-rtrmadp-3-usabanks.JPG?crop=5499,3093,x0,y0&width=660&height=371&format=pjpg&auto=webp" data-g-r="vp_po" fetchpriority="high" elementtiming="ar-lead-image" decoding="async"/><svg class="gnt_em_vp_svg"><use xlink:href="#gnt_svg_video_play"/></svg></button></div></aside><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">If you want to sober up quick on New Year’s Day, open your credit card statement. </p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">Americans are worried about money. They’ll probably be more worried in the new year, when they wake up, bleary-eyed, after a month of binge-shopping on gifts. </p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">You may not be surprised, then, to hear the most popular financial New Year’s resolutions for 2025. They represent the opposite, basically, of what many of us do around the holidays, which is spend money and take on debt. </p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">In a survey by The Motley Fool, the finance and investing site, consumers named “paying off debt” as their <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fool.com/money/research/financial-new-years-resolutions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-t-l=":b|z|k|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a">top financial resolution</a> for 2025, especially credit card debt. </p><aside aria-label="advertisement" class="gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al"/><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">In a survey by Edward Jones, the investment firm, consumers named “building a savings account” as their <a target="_blank" href="https://www.edwardjones.com/us-en/why-edward-jones/news-media/press-releases/making-financial-resolutions-2025" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-t-l=":b|z|k|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a">top financial resolution</a>. No. 2: paying off credit card debt. </p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p"><strong>Earn rewards on your spending:</strong> <a target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-t-l=":body nav (cc)|e|auto spike click:6|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a" href="https://www.usatoday.com/money/blueprint/credit-cards/best-credit-cards/">See the best credit cards</a></p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">A third survey, from the personal finance site WalletHub, yielded <a target="_blank" href="https://wallethub.com/blog/new-years-financial-resolutions-survey/69652" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-t-l=":b|z|k|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a">three top resolutions</a>. Together, they sum up the aspirations of the American consumer: Save more, spend less, and make more money. </p><aside aria-label="advertisement" class="gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al"/><h2 class="gnt_ar_b_mt">Build up your savings, or pay down your debt</h2><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">Increase savings or reduce debt: They’re both great goals, financial advisers say. </p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">“Get that momentum going to where you’re either building up your savings or paying down your debt, whichever you're trying to accomplish," said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fool.com/author/1318/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-t-l=":b|z|k|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a">Robert Brokamp</a>, a certified financial planner and senior adviser at Motley Fool. </p><aside aria-label="advertisement" class="gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al"/><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">But, which to prioritize? That’s a subject of endless...</p></div> <style> .wrapper { text-align: center; } </style> <div class="wrapper"> <a class="button" href ="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2024/12/19/financial-new-years-resolutions-2025/76959002007/">Read more <span>➤</span></a> </div>
